Raw and Refined, Primal and Modern; World’s Last Music by Virginia Botto Poala

In a world teetering on the brink of dystopian geopolitics, the talented Virginia Botto Poala, a graduate student at the esteemed Istituto Marangoni in Milan, has embarked on a creative odyssey. Her vision, “World’s Last Music,” beckons us to embrace a forced return to a near-primordial and nomadic state of being that forces us to face vanishing certainties and the loss of past stability.

Virginia Botto Poala’s journey started in Biella, a region renowned for textile manufacturing. She learned the subtleties of fashion while growing up in a family business that specializes in high-fashion materials. After two inspiring internships in New York, her creative fire was ignited. She moved to Milan in 2021 to study fashion design at the prestigious Istituto Marangoni, where she honed her creative skills and developed a strong interest in sustainability, particularly concerning wool and natural fibers. Her creations are a reflection of how she sees a world that is subject to human impact but strives to embrace a sustainable, radiant future beyond outward appearances, reveal hidden beauty, and empower women.

“World’s Last Music” by Virginia Botto Poala is a symphony of raw and refined, of primal and modern—a powerful reminder that in times of upheaval and uncertainty, humanity’s essence remains ever resolute and beautiful.

Imagine a woman in perpetual emotional flux, endlessly seeking remnants of what once was and seizing them serendipitously, guided not by a preconceived plan but by the capricious whims of fate. Her existence, an intricate tapestry woven from chance encounters, allows her to explore and express her primal and untamed instincts. It’s a desire to unite and, above all, harmonize elements and materials drawn haphazardly from the wilderness that underpins her quest.

Her journey begins with the primal medium of leather—a material harkening back to humanity’s earliest days. Virginia’s vision is to keep it in its “natural” form, with minimal necessary stitching and cutting, as it drapes and molds directly onto the body.

Fabrics, chosen from natural fibers and sometimes left untinted, are likewise left raw-edged and occasionally frayed. Through subtle folds and creases, they transform into garments reminiscent of haphazard patchwork, bearing semblance to repairs made in the wake of catastrophe, as if they were salvaged and resurrected from the aftermath of apocalyptic events. Virginia intentionally incorporates manipulations that evoke the peeling, moisture-stained walls of abandoned, uninhabitable homes, becoming poetic symbols of longing and nostalgia in the heart of a woman suddenly thrust into nomadic life.

Once more, the remnants of buildings and fragments of reinforced concrete walls, their structures contorted by destruction, elicit a profound yearning for the old hearth—a yearning so strong it must be worn on one’s skin. This yearning is encapsulated in a knitted fabric that blends strands of merino wool with polyurethane threads, reminiscent of rubber—an everyday material from a bygone era.

Combining man-made and natural materials that have been left in their most basic forms shows a soul that is torn between lack of order and stability of a bygone era, and hearing the call of the wild and primordial. For it is in a woman’s primal nature to find harmony in the most contrasting of emotions and to discover beauty even in the chaos formed from a few basic and primitive elements.

“World’s Last Music” by Virginia Botto Poala is a symphony of raw and refined, of primal and modern—a powerful reminder that in times of upheaval and uncertainty, humanity’s essence remains ever resolute and beautiful.

Outfit and jewels : @virginia.bottopoala
Photos: Polina Mordvinova – Vladimir Mordvinov @paulmordvian
Stylist : Fiona Chernavskaya @fijioa
Model : @didiportuesi